Labor of Love

By Criminally Charmed

Disclaimer (please also count for You're Gone, as for some reason the notes I added did not stay on that one) - I do not, never have and unless something very odd happens, I will never own Thunderbirds.

Thank you to Sam1 for your input, and to all the reviewers who have given so much encouragement.

"God is a man."

Scott and Jeff Tracy looked up from their paperwork – Scott's was International Rescue, Jeff's was Tracy Enterprises – in surprise. Katherine Tracy, Scott's wife and (for now) Jeff's only daughter-in-law, had thrown down a pen and report in disgust.

"Umm," Scott mused, cautious in his response, aware that a wife far along in the third trimester of her pregnancy was a being to be very careful with. "Why is that, Kate?"

"Because no woman is so cruel to do this to another woman."

Jeff smiled. "I can recall hearing that before. Five times, in fact."

Kate grinned. "Dad says he heard it three."

Suddenly, Virgil ran out onto the patio where the Tracys were working. "Dad, Alan's school is on the line! They said there's been an accident!"

Jeff and Scott jumped up, running into the house. Virgil turned to join them when he heard Kate call his name. "Virgil Grissom Tracy, don't you dare leave me here!" Seeing his sister-in-law struggling to get up out of her seat, Virgil hid a grin and helped Kate to her feet. Gathering up the reports she ran in to the villa. Actually, Virgil mused, a rapid waddle was more like it. But at more than eight months along, no one was dumb enough to say that.

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"…..Mr. Tracy, it was an accident, we can assure you."

Jefferson Tracy was furious. Looking at him, Kate could easily understand the phrase, "blood in their eyes". Virgil went to help Kate into a seat, but she waved him off. Scott, seeing his wife and middle brother run into the room, witnessed his Virgil's dilemma. Grabbing a rolling desk chair, he gently pushed Kate into it and rolled her closer to the vid phone in his father's office.

"Are you serious? Some rotten little punk thinks it would be funny to play a joke on the computer club, causes a fire in the lab and only because Alan was able to get the kids out through a window are they OK. You better plan on expelling that little monster!" Jeff was furious, and heads were going to roll.

"Mr. Wescott was unaware of the consequence of his actions. He is deeply sorry for his deeds and has agreed to a one month in-school suspension. In addition, his family will be held liable for any financial considerations and the track coach has removed him from the team. Coach Michaels says he can not have such reckless behavior on his team." The headmaster grew serious. "But in all honesty Mr. Tracy, if Alan had not chosen to scale down from the roof of a three story building to play hero, he would not have broken his arm."

Scott glared at the man. "And would you have been able to get all the boys out of the computer lab in time? You said it was a total loss by the time the firefighters got there. If Alan hadn't helped to get them out, how many would have died? And may I remind you, his best friend Fermat was in there? Alan would have felt he had no choice." The headmaster muttered something.

Kate had joined in the glare festival. "Excuse me? What was that? If you have something to say, just say it!" Idiot, she thought.

The headmaster looked at the gathered Tracys. "I said, that is what Alan, and the Fire Chief, both said. And as Alan pointed out, if flames from the window hadn't weakened his rope, he would have gotten down just fine. Luckily, he had already started down, so he didn't fall as far as he could have."

Virgil finally spoke up. "What hospital is Alan in?"

"Actually, he is on his way back to Wharton's now. But on to my other reason for calling. The emergency room doctor who treated Alan is recommending a few days rest. As Spring Break starts in four days, I thought it might be nice for Alan to be allowed to go home early, rather than have to stay in his dorm room or the infirmary all the time until break."

Kate struggled to her feet. "Tell Alan his brother and I will be there shortly." She reached over and turned off the vid-phone.

Scott protested. "Kate, you can't…"

"I will be calmer the sooner I see Alan, Dad has a telephone conference in 45 minutes on the new micro-processors and at least two people need to be available for rescues. Now either you fly me to Massachusetts now Scott Tracy or I will go myself. Which will it be?"

Stalking out of the room – though not as gracefully as she once did, Kate was already heading to the hanger where the family jets were. Looking helplessly at his father, Scott ran after his wife when Jeff said "Son, you know your wife. Do you think she was bluffing?"

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Alan Tracy sat in his dorm room, waiting for his family. The headmaster had told Fermat Hackenbacker, his best friend and roommate, that Alan was heading back to Tracy Island almost a week early for Spring Break. His head and back sore, his left arm broken, Alan was annoyed to be going back, as it meant there was no way he could work rescues with the Thunderbirds. It was his favorite thing to do with his family when he was on school breaks. Now, Alan would just be able to hang around the island with his girlfriend Tin-Tin…

You know, he thought, this might not be so bad after all.

A knock at the door pulled Alan from his thoughts. Crossing the room, Alan opened the door and was instantly swept into a hug by his sister-in-law. "Alan! Oh, gosh, let me look at you? Are you OK? Oh, of course you're not OK. Your arm! Was it a clean break? How long will you have the cast? Are there any other injuries? How high up were you when you fell? Did you… Scott Tracy did you just poke me in the back?"

By this time Alan had given up the struggle. He began to laugh and Scott couldn't help joining in. Looking at her husband and her usually favorite brother-in-law, Kate was torn between breaking Alan's other arm, and then working on her spouse's head. But after a moment, Kate began to see the humor. Laughing herself she quipped, "Would you believe, I use to be a rational, logical person? Of course, back then I could see my feet."

Still laughing, Alan snarked, "Don't worry Kate, they're still there!"

TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB

Four days later, Alan was sitting by the pool. The rest of the family had signed his cast – Virgil had even done a small landscape on it. Tin-Tin came running up from the beach, having been helping her father with debris leftover from a mild tropical storm that had passed through. Alan enjoyed being home, but was frustrated with the fact that the Thunderbirds had gone on two rescues since he had returned and he was back to being left behind. Heck, on the last one – a mudslide in South America – Tin-Tin had even gone along for training on Field Command. By now, Alan was even ready to go up to Five. Boring as that could be, at least it gave Alan plenty of time to read his science fiction stories.

Seeing Tin-Tin approach from one direction, with Gordon doing laps in the pool and Virgil emerging from the house, Alan slipped the notebook he had been writing in back under a magazine. There was one secret about Alan Tracy that he wasn't ready to share with the world. And he definitely wasn't ready to let his family know about it!

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John Tracy was bored. He was finding himself wondering more and more often if he really made a difference up here in the stars. John knew it was critical that International Rescues communications be autonomous, and to be independent of governments or corporations. In this way alone could they be the idea that his father had envisioned years ago. But thinking of his family often made John think of his brother Scott – or more importantly, his brother's wife and unborn child.

Not that John was in love with Kate. Well, he did love her, all of the Tracy brothers did. But to the younger Tracys Kate was the sister they never had.

No, when John thought of Kate and the baby, he began to wonder if he would ever have a family of his own. Alan, his youngest brother, already knew he wanted to marry Tin-Tin one day; Gordon, the second youngest son, had been in love, though John was unsure if it would have led to marriage. Sadly, they would never know. The young woman, Lisa, had been a "connection" of Kate's (some kind of cousin by marriage), that Gordy had met at Scott and Kate's wedding. The two had dated until the young woman's tragic death in a plane crash. To make matters worse, the crash had been the site of an IR rescue. John had been with his brother when they found Lisa – only to watch as she had died in Gordon's arms.

It was taking time but Gordon was recovering. John had known his prankster brother would be alright the first time John had returned to Thunderbird Five after the accident. Having spent five weeks on Earth, John had been pleased to return to the stars, though he had been glad to have been there when his brothers had needed him.

Oh, yes, brothers, plural. Alan had been forced to confront his nightmares during that time as well. The monster that had kidnapped him more than a year ago had gone to trial. After Alan had testified against him, the bastard had managed to grab a gun and take Alan hostage. While Kate had nailed the SOB, a missed shot by a local cop had hit Alan. Thank God he had been OK after that. Sometimes John thought someone really had it in for the Sprout. Kidnapped, shot… and now their father said Alan had broken his arm saving Fermat and some other students from a fire. Yeah, someone definitely was gunning for his brother.

But Gordon was something else. John supposed he still had no proof that Gordon had added that little something extra to the supplies John had brought back up with him when he returned to relieve the Hackenbackers from their month long "vacation" on the space station. Discovering that the first Tracy grandchild had been conceived when Kate had been up here training with Scott was bad enough (it had been hard to sleep in the bed up here with that mental image, thanks a lot big brother) but it had obviously reinvigorated Gordon's jokester side. Leave it to his one brother to make sure that in addition to shampoo, soap, etc., the personal hygiene items had now included prophylactics. Or that the songs "Love Machine" and "Love Boat" were added to the music downloads.

Nope, his brothers were never gonna let John forget about this.

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Jeff Tracy stood on the balcony to his study. Brains had just radioed that he was making his final approach to the island with Fermat. Jeff had been planning on making the trip as well but with Alan already back on the island he had let the scientist go have some time with his son. Of course, soon the two would be going up to Thunderbird Five to relieve John. It should have been Scott's turn but with Kate's due date so soon, his firstborn was reluctant to leave his wife and their firstborn. The Hackenbackers had actually suggested that they cover Five for the week. Ever since that first Christmas Break that the father and son had gone to the Space Station, it had become their vacation spot of choice. Well, if it made them happy…

It certainly made the Tracys happy, with all five sons together. Jeff smiled as he recalled Alan's reaction to finding out that first time that all the Tracys would be together for Christmas that year. His smile faded somewhat when he recalled how quickly that joy had turned to agony. Jeff had picked up Alan first as he was sure that his son would only have to wait a few minutes at Tracy Towers for Jeff to complete some business. Instead, Alan had been kidnapped by a former employee who would have not only taken Jeff's money; the monster had not planned on giving Alan back, at least not alive. Thankfully, a FBI agent already at the building had figured out where Alan was and, with Scott, had saved his youngest.

Smiling down at his sons and Tin-Tin, Jeff watched as that same former agent joined them, Scott's hand on her arm. As protective as Scott had been with his younger brothers, it was no surprise his oldest was watching over Kate as carefully as she approached her due date.

Kyrano came up behind Jeff, writing on a list as he did. "Mr. Tracy, I am preparing for a supply run. Is there anything you wish me to add?"

Not taking his eyes from his children, Jeff shook his head, unable to think of anything. Curious as to what held his employer's attention, Kyrano joined Jeff at the railing. Looking over at his longtime retainer, Jeff smiled. Motioning at their offspring, Jeff said "You know they are going to get married and have kids of their own one day."

With a slight nod, Kyrano sighed. "And let us hope that it is many years in the future Mr. Tracy."

That being said, Kyrano turned and began to walk away. Jeff called after him as both left the balcony, Jeff returning to his desk, "Kyrano, if Alan were to marry Tin-Tin, would you finally call me Jeff?"

Never missing a step, the retainer answered. "Of course not, Mr. Tracy."

It was a show of the man's dignity that he never acknowledged the laughter coming from Jeff's study.

TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB

Kyrano entered the kitchen of the main house, much as he had Jeff's study, busily making notes. His wife Onaha was writing her own notes, preparing a list to add to her husband's. Watching his spouse, an idea hit the man. "Onaha, why do you not come with me? You hardly ever leave the island. It would be nice for you to take some time, especially before the baby comes."

Onaha smiled at her husband. "Yes, that would be nice. Should we ask Mr. Tracy?"

Shaking his head, he answered, "We do not have to. Mr. Tracy has always encouraged this before, why would this be different?"

Becoming thoughtful, the housekeeper frowned, "But with the baby due soon, Mrs. Kate should not be left alone."

Kyrano smiled. "My dear wife, with six other Tracys and our daughter here, even with the Hackenbackers going up to the station, she will be fine. Even if there is a rescue that Tin-Tin would be needed on, Mr. Alan can not go. And he can still fly a plane, even with a broken arm."

Smiling again, Onaha nodded her agreement. It would be nice to have a day with her husband away from the island.

TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB

Having called Alan into his study, Jeff smiled as his son entered the room. "Alan, the orthopedist called. Your appointment has been moved up to today. If we leave now, I can have you there with time to spare."

"But I wanted to say goodbye to Fermat before he goes up to Five."

"Well, Brains and Fermat are landing as we speak. You can talk to them quickly if you hurry."

Just then, Jeff's vid phone signaled an incoming call. Anne Marie Thompson, Jeff's longtime secretary came on screen. "Jeff, we need you to join in this conference call. Mr. Akito refuses to deal with anyone but you."

Jeff began to protest, when Alan interrupted. "Dad, I am nearly seventeen. I can fly myself and go to doctor appointments all on my own." His father looked to say more, so the teen continued. "I'll bring Tin with me, if you like."

Freezing at the thought of his teenage son and his teenage girlfriend alone in Auckland with their teenage hormones, Jeff shook his head. "No Alan, you can fly yourself. But you call when you get there, and as soon as you leave the doctor's office. And it is strictly to and from the doctor's, no side trips."

"No problem Dad." Grimacing at his cast, Alan looked back up at his father. "Not much I can do right now, anyhow."

TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB

Kate made her way into the kitchen of the main house. There were no more avocados in the villa she shared with Scott and the baby was once more craving some. Looking over her shoulder, the former agent frowned as she saw her husband bringing up the rear. "You know," Kate sighed, "I don't need a protection detail."

Walking towards the fridge, Onaha stopped Kate in her tracks, handing her a bowl of peeled and sliced avocados. Smiling her thanks, Kate didn't notice as Onaha added more of that item to the list as well. Kyrano smiled at the couple and asked "Is there anything that the two of you wished added to the supply run?" As Scott began to speak, Kyrano added quickly, "Yes, Mr. Scott, I know. Diapers, lots of diapers." Kate chuckled, earning a glare from her husband.

Listening to the couple chatter with Scott, Kate smiled when she heard that Onaha was going with Kyrano. It would be nice for the woman to have an afternoon off. Jeff often tried to encourage the couple to relax more, but with the exception of the week the couple took each August for a family vacation their employer got nowhere.

"Onaha, why don't the two of you have dinner in Christchurch? There is a new Polynesian Restaurant that you'd enjoy." Kate asked. "I can make dinner tonight and you two deserve some actual free time that doesn't include buying supplies."

While the couple was initially reluctant, they finally agreed to spend the evening alone. Kate frowned and she admitted she would have to make something on the stove – she could no longer bend well enough to bake anything. Scott, who had been frowning at the idea of Kate being on her feet for that long, found himself laughing.

Kyrano was a wise man. He didn't laugh with Scott and was spared the glares that came the way of the oldest Tracy son. Perhaps, he mused, Scott would gain wisdom with age. A wise man NEVER laughed at his very pregnant wife. Scott would be lucky to get anything besides sandwiches and cold cereal for the next month.

TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB

Tin-Tin was walking Alan to the plane. "I don't see why I shouldn't go with you, Alan. You shouldn't be flying on your own."

Alan reassured his girlfriend he would be fine but was not about to admit to her that his father didn't trust them not to take advantage of being away from the island without a chaperone. Not that Jeff had said so to him. But he hadn't been Jeff Tracy's son for nearly seventeen years without being to read his father by now.

"A-Alan!" Fermat called out.

"Hey, Fermat, Brains," Alan greeted the pair. "Glad I caught you two."

Brains looked confused. "A-Alan, we w-won't be le-le going up to Th-Thunderbird Five for another hour."

""Yeah, but I have an appointment with the orthopedist in an hour. I have to leave now if I am going to make it."

"Are you going with him, Tin-Tin?" Fermat asked.

"No," Tin-Tin sighed. "Mr. Tracy said Alan was to go alone."

Brains hid a smile. While Fermat seemed puzzled as to why his two friends weren't going together, the scientist knew why. Having his teenage son's teenage girlfriend living on the same small island had caused the billionaire to get extremely creative in making sure the two were never quite as alone as they might hope. Luckily for Jeff's blood pressure, Alan was thousands of miles away at school most of the year.

Seeing Tin-Tin's disappointment as Alan flew off in one of the family jets, Brains brought the young Malaysian girl with them as they reported in to Jeff before their trip. "M-Mr. Tracy," Brains asked, "Would it be a-alright for Tin-Tin to j-join us? She could log s-some time as co-pilot for Th-Thunderbird Three and h-h-h assist with the software upgrade on F-Five. Then J-John can have her as co-pilot on h-his return tr-trip."

Watching the way Tin-Tin's face lit up – being in Alan's (future) bird was almost as good as being with Alan – Jeff gave in. If a rescue came up, Onaha could still be there with Kate. Plus, Alan would be back within three hours, Tin-Tin and John within five to six and Kyrano back by dinnertime.

TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB

Perhaps it was inevitable, but no sooner had Thunderbird Three left the launch pad had a rescue in fact come in. Mount Vesuvius, which had not erupted this century, had exploded, endangering countless people. All available hands would be needed. Kate was even running Command and Control, something she had done often since discovering her pregnancy. While Jeff left Kate in – he thought – Onaha's capable hands, the expectant parents both found themselves wondering where Alan and Tin-Tin were. Even if they were not needed for the rescue, the two would usually come to Command and Control to monitor the Thunderbirds progress. So with Jeff's call of "Thunderbirds are go!" Kate began the task of monitoring the team along with John on Five.

After checking on Kate one last time, admonishing the younger woman to "keep her feet up" and to call Alan and Tin-Tin if she needed anything, Onaha and Kyrano left for their supply run/ evening off. And Kate became annoyed at how uncomfortable Jeff's chair suddenly was. Her lower back had been killing her all morning long.

TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB

Up on Thunderbird Five, Tin-Tin was dismayed when they suddenly lost contact with Tracy Island and the Thunderbirds. Quickly reviewing the data, John and Brains realized that one line of data had caused an error that had resulted in a cascade failure. While between them, they would be able to get to get the communications back up, it would take a couple of hours. Until then, the Thunderbirds would be on their own, cut off from Thunderbird Five and Tracy Island. The communications expert never even stopped to consider that Kate was now cut off from them as well. Tin-Tin did think about it, but Fermat assured her that Onaha was with her and Alan would be back soon if Kate needed to fly to the mainland.

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Alan Tracy was pleased. Dr. Robert Bean was one of the foremost orthopedists in the world, and he had assured Alan that the break was clean. It had already begun to heal. Dr. Bean saw no future problems with the injury. Alan was still annoyed at that jerk Kyle Wescott, as Alan would be sitting out the rest of the track season. The team had been on their way to a second spring track championship, but with Alan out… But at least when Alan came back in the fall, it would be as team captain and there was no way Wescott would be on the team. Causing the accident that had endangered some of the brightest boys at Wharton's and resulted in thousands of dollars in damage – though Alan wondered which the headmaster considered more important – had assured Kyle being permanently cut from the team roster. Anyone else would have also been booted, but unfortunately Wescott Sr. was the headmaster's old college roommate. Figures.

Damn. Alan had forgotten to call when he got to Auckland. Of course, he had been lucky to get to his appointment in time. Pulling out his cell phone, Alan realized that he hadn't even turned it on – and there were nineteen "missed calls" from home… Alan was so screwed.

Quickly calling home, Alan took a deep breathe, ready for his father's outrage at Alan's failure to follow orders. He never expected to hear Kate's voice, and certainly not with the degree of near hysteria that had filled it. "Alan? Oh, thank God! Where are you and Tin-Tin? I need you back at the house now!"

"Kate? What's wrong? Are you OK?"

"No I am not freaking OK! I am in labor! I can't reach anybody!"

Alan had always thought nothing could rattle his sister-in-law. Obviously, he had been wrong. "Kate, I'm not on the island, I'm just leaving my doctor's appointment in Auckland and Tin-Tin's on Five with John, Brains and Fermat." Fumbling to get the key in the car the Tracys kept at the Auckland Airport with a broken arm but not losing the connection with Kate, Alan tried to think – wait… Why wasn't his father answering the phone? And why hadn't Scott taken his wife to the hospital already? "Kate where is Dad and Scott? Did they have, ummm… family business to handle?"

"Um, yeah. Family business." Kate was in the middle of a contraction and was having trouble thinking straight. "Alan, I need you to bring a doctor back here."

"Kate, I don't think many doctors make house calls anymore. Besides, Onaha told you, her mother and sister were mid-wives, she can deliver the baby if I can't back in time to fly you to the hospital – which I can be back in thirty minutes tops."

"OK, first off Kiddo, Onaha left with Kyrano for supplies and a dinner date, they will not be back until late tonight. Second, something must have gone wrong with the software update on Five, as all communications with the Thunderbirds are down. A diagnostic program shows everything else is fine, I just can't reach anyone using the traditional methods. Third, you know your dad's policy, all cell phones go off during rescues – I just keep getting everyone's voice mails. And last, but most certainly not least Alan, my water broke and my contractions have gone to 10 minutes apart. I am guessing about an hour or so until you are an uncle. So either bring back a doctor STAT or be ready to deliver him yourself, got it?"

"Paging Dr. Kildaire…."

TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB

Alan Tracy burst into Mercy General Hospital, frantic. Running up to a nurse's station he begged, "Please, I need to find Dr. Henrichs right away."

The charge nurse looked Alan up and down, trying not to laugh, answering him. "Young man, the only Dr. Henrichs here would definitely not see you."

Trying not to flip out, the youngest (for now) Tracy sighed. "No, she is my sister-in-law's OBGYN, Kate is in labor and her water broke."

All business now, the nurse asked Alan "Where is she, we can admit her right away."

"She's back on our island. Due to some very bizarre circumstances, everyone somehow left Kate all alone. She finally was able to get a hold of me and by now her water has broken and…" Alan paused as a new text message came in. "OK, her contractions are now 9 minutes apart, I have already lost a minute of contractions. I need Dr. Henrichs to come with me."

"Dr. Henrichs is performing a high-risk C-Section as we speak, she's not available." Alan turned at the new voice. A pretty blue eyed blond approached Alan. Reading her nametag, he addressed her now.

"Dr. Haas, I need to find a doctor to come back with me to the island."

Bending over the nurses' counter, Dr. Haas signed off on several reports by using electronic pads. Keeping her eyes on the reports, she continued to speak to Alan. "Is there anyone else with your sister-in-law who can assist her or bring her to help."

Alan shook his head. "No, like I said, a series of coincidences all came together and Kate is all alone on Tracy Island."

Several nurses flinched at that. It suddenly hit them who the boy was talking about. This wasn't just any baby who should have been born at their hospital. This was Jeff Tracy's – THE Jeff Tracy - first grandchild. But it wasn't the thought of the superrich heir that caught Dr. Haas's attention, it was the mother of that child. "Wait… Katherine Eppes Tracy? Dr. Edward Eppes cousin?"

Confused, Alan watched the doctor begin to gather her medical supplies. What the… "Yeah, Kate has a cousin named Edward, but he's not a doctor here, he's…"

"A cardiac surgeon at Cedar Sinai in Los Angeles." Grabbing her medical bag in her right hand and Alan's right arm in her left, she urged him to the door. "Come on, I assume you have a jet handy to get us there." Looking back over her shoulder even as she ran out the door, Dr. Haas called back, "Paula, tell Dr. Brady I finally have a good excuse for missing a staff meeting!"

TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB

Safely enroute to Tracy Island, Alan spared a moment to look at Dr. Haas. Had he really just hijacked a doctor? Worse, one who had not been cleared to come to the island by the Tracys? And, wait, ummm… "How do you know Kate?"

Smiling at the teen as she checked her bag for what must have been the tenth time, Dr. Haas realized how much she must have confused him. "You're Alan, right?" At Alan's nod, she continued. "I'm Dr. Emily Haas, I use to work with Edward in LA."

"You don't sound much like you're from California, you sound more like a lot of my teachers… Northeastern United States, right?"

Emily smiled. "New Yorker here… Tried to get as far from my family as possible. When Los Angeles still wasn't far enough – Edward never understood why I tried to keep away from my family – I quit Cedar's and took the job here. I love the challenge of being an emergency medical specialist but I would love to be a small town doctor like my Grandfather was."

"You're in emergency medicine, not OB?"

Smiling, Emily began to laugh as the teenager looked panicky. "Don't worry Alan, I can still deliver babies. And what did you expect? You ran into the emergency room, what kind of doctor did you think you'd find?"

Trying to concentrate on his flying as they made final approach to Tracy Island, Alan mentally shrugged. To be honest, he didn't even realize what entrance he had used. All he knew was that someone in his family needed help, and Alan was the only one who could get it there in time.

TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB

Kate Tracy was ready to panic. The Thunderbirds communication was still down. Kate was still alone on the island and her contractions were now five minutes apart. Suddenly, she heard a beloved familiar voice calling her name.

Alan came running into Command and Control. Eyes wide, he was already reaching to pull Kate up from where she was sprawled on a couch. "Kate, why are you still in here? You should be in sickbay or someone's bed…Preferably not mine." Just as they began to leave the room, Kate froze at the face entering the room… "Emily? Emily Haas?"

Smiling, Dr. Haas began to assist Alan in getting Kate to sickbay. "Hey, I may have missed your wedding but I think I can make up for it now. So whatta ya say? We gonna have a baby or what?"

TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB

The rescue in Napals, Italy had gone surprisingly smoothly. Combining the rescue platform, the Mole and the Thunderizer in unique out-of-the box thinking had cut the rescue time and undoubtedly saved many lives. But, Jeff wondered, how much of his "always good under pressure" son's training as Field Commander was at work here, and how much was Scott Tracy, anxious to get back to his pregnant wife. Jogging over to Field Command, Jeff nodded at his son, who in turn raised frantic eyes to his father. "Dad, I finally got John back on Five. The software is all up and running, but they can't reach anyone at base."

"Kate or Onaha aren't answering at all?"

"Dad, Onaha went with Kyrano to Christchurch. They won't be back until late." Scott brightened. "Wait, I didn't know Tin-Tin was up with John until he mentioned she would be co-piloting back with him on Three. But Alan would still be there… Dad why are you shaking your head?"

Eyes wide, the Thunderbirds Commander tried to remain calm as he told the pilot, "Scott, Alan went to Auckland to visit Dr. Bean before we left."

But if that were the case….

The Tracys couldn't get the Field Command put away fast enough.

TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB

Kate Tracy was scared, exhausted and furious. How many times had Scott and Jeff told her not to worry, her husband would be there when the baby came. Instead of being in the private suite in the best hospital in Auckland, with the top obstetrician in the country, she was in the sickbay on Tracy Island, her baby being delivered by the ex-girlfriend of her cousin and the only Tracy son here was not the one she was married to, but instead his youngest brother.

Cursing up a storm, she grabbed Alan by the collar of his tee-shirt. "Now, Alan, this is what happens with adult relationships. I know you and Tin-Tin have thought about it, talked about it. Are you really ready for this? Do you think she is?" Alan, looking ready to faint, was just shaking his head.

"Nope. No way. Right now taking eternal vows of chastity is looking good. REAL good."

Emily snickered. "OK, Kate, you are fully dilated and the baby is definitely coming quickly. This looks good. You're very lucky."

"Lucky, LUCKY!?" Kate gasped. "You call this lucky!? I wanted a hospital, doctors and most of all, drugs."

"Well," mused Emily. "You don't have to worry about the media in this facility, I am a doctor and you were too far gone for drugs."

Supporting Kate with his good right arm, Alan let her grasp his left hand. Somewhere along the line he both felt and heard a "snap". Biting back tears of pain, he knew he would need Dr. Haas after the baby came. Then he would need to go back to the orthopedist for his now broken left hand.

TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB

Scott Tracy was landing Thunderbird One just ahead of his brother John landing their rocket Thunderbird Three. Racing through the tunnels that lead from the 'Birds silos to the main villa, Scott didn't even acknowledge John and Tin-Tin bringing up the rear. He had confirmed that the only jet missing from the hanger was the one Kyrano used for supply runs. That meant his wife should be here somewhere with Alan. But where?

Calling out the names of the unaccounted for Tracys as they entered the main house, the three separated without even acknowledging what they were doing. Appropriately, it was Scott who found them, just in time to see his son arrive in the world. Tears in his eyes, Scott gingerly approached his wife, brother and… Oh, my God. His baby. Taking Alan's place by his wife, Scott kissed his wife on the forehead. "Hi, honey, I'm home."

TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB

By the time the other Tracys made it back on Thunderbird Two, Tin-Tin, Alan, John and Emily had gone up to the kitchen for ice tea and to give the new parents some time with their son. As Tin-Tin poured the tea, Emily taped Alan's fingers – turns out his hand wasn't broken, just three fingers. And then, she was talking to John, enraptured. She never knew, the young doctor told him, that Kate's brother-in-law was the astronomer whose books she absolutely loved. She had forgotten that he was Jeff Tracy's son. Through the pain, Alan was actually trying not to laugh. He had never seen John blush before.

Jeff, Virgil and Gordon stopped dead when they ran into the villa and found the foursome. "Umm, Dad, this is Dr. Emily Haas. I found her in Auckland to deliver the baby. She's an old friend of Kate's cousin Edward."

Jeff was torn between wanting to run down to sickbay to check out his grandbaby, wanting to know why the doctor was now treating his baby and trying to figure out how much the good Dr. Haas knew.

Emily looked at the billionaire and began to answer the questions she could see he wanted answers to. "Congratulations Mr. Tracy, you have a grandson. Mother and child are doing fine. Alan has three broken fingers, seems Kate has quite the grip. And lets just put the Thunderbirds down under doctor-patient confidentiality."

"You know?" Virgil gasped.

"Listen, I am a genius. Seriously, I was a licensed physician before I could buy a beer. So with Kate still having your little command center up, you are all wearing Thunderbird uniforms and Kate threatening to do something with Thunderbird One and Scott that I am fairly sure is physically impossible, it wasn't hard to guess. Oh, and one more thing with Kate... If she ever decides to have more kids and goes off the island to have them, may I suggest lots of drugs for her."

TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB

Kate and Scott smiled as their family trooped into sickbay. Motioning to the relatives to come closer, Scott grinned at his father, "Hey Dad, look what we did."

Jeff ran a reverant finger over the baby's face. He was a Grandpa. Wow.. This was amazing. The last time he had felt this in awe…It was when Scott had been placed in his arms.

"Not bad, Kate," Gordon snarked. "So, he got a name yet, or is this kid doomed to be graduating college as Baby Boy Tracy."

Scott smiled at his wife before looking at his family. "Meet Jason Alan Tracy."

Alan grinned. "Alan?"

Kate smiled. "Well, it was my Grandfather's name. And," she added reaching for Alan's hand. "We met because of you and I know how much I owe you for today."

Scott got up from the bed he had been sitting on with his wife to hug his youngest brother. "Thanks Sprout. You really came through for me."

Alan grinned. "No problem Scott, just don't ever ask me to cover for you in this kind of mission again."

Jeff had taken his grandson into his arms, and was unashamedly letting tears run down his face. Oh, Lucy, he is perfect. Looking over at his sons and his daughter-in-law, hugging and laughing, Jeff remembered feeling like that, five times over. Handling his grandchild as the precious gift he was, he recalled how Lucy referred to each of their sons' births. Smiling at the small wonder in his arms, Jeff could see why Lucy called their births a labor of love. All that hard work for something so very amazing. Yes, it was Lucy. It is was indeed a labor of love.

a/n - yeah, it was all fluff... but fluff is so sweet and not bad with peanutbutter... So many times, if the fanfic mentions Scott having kids, it is a little girl. But I could not picture the first Tracy grandchild, especially by Scott, as anything other than a boy. More stories to come... Hope you will like...